Krontjong from the Spice Islands

Dutch ensemble Indisch Muzikanten Collectief (IMC) presents a lively album of krontjong, also known as keroncong (pronounced keronchong) . This hybrid music style is the result of the fusion of Indonesian Gamelan and traditional Portuguese music. IMC performs its own material and traditional songs as well as unexpected covers of the Allman Brothers southern rock classic ‘Jessica’ and Alison Krause’s ‘Choctaw Hayride.’

The IMC Krontjong Ensemble features flute, violin, melody guitars, ukulele, a cello and string bass in pizzicato style, and a male singer. The Collection includes several instrumentals and vocal pieces sung in English, Dutch, and Bahasa Indonesia.

Although the ensemble’s music is rooted in keroncong, there are also elements of bluegrass-type improv and twangy guitars with a Hawaiian flavor. For those unfamiliar with krontjong, the music frequently includes a strumming sound similar to the ukulele. This is the influence from the Portuguese cavaquinho, which is the ancestor of the ukulele.

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has been writing about world music music for many years. He founded the websites worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. Angel produced several TV specials for Metropolis (TVE) and co-produced “Musica NA”, a music show for Televisión Española (TVE) in Spain that featured an eclectic mix of world music, fusion, electronica, new age and contemporary classical music. Angel also produced and remastered world music albums, compilations and boxed sets for Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Music of the World.